DIY: Chalkboard Paint & Contact Paper & Placemats

dollar store placemats made into colorful chalkboard thanksgiving placemats, perfect for the kids table! Featured on Design Dazzle

Fall is here and Thanksgiving is coming! Most of us at one time or another have sat at the “kids table” for Thanksgiving dinner. How awesome would it be to have a bright and cheery kids table with a chalkboard table runner or a chalkboard placemat for your guests to doodle and draw?? I share how to make the colorful chalkboard paint and the DIY instructions to make chalkboard placemats and use contact paper as a table runner. The dollar store is the perfect place to purchase the contact paper and the vinyl place mats used for these tutorials. Thanksgiving idea for the kids table – have the kids (or kids at heart) draw what they are thankful for on the chalkboard placemats or table runner!

COLORED CHALKBOARD PAINT RECIPE:

SUPPLIES:
Acrylic Craft Paint (color of your choice)
Non-sanded grout ( I used white) purchase at a home improvement store

Mix one cup of craft paint with 1 tablespoon of non-sanded grout (mix until lumps are gone). If you are using this chalkboard paint to paint on your wall, use real latex paint and not craft paint. Mix what you need this paint won’t store well. I have also heard you can use plaster of paris in place of the non-sanded grout. It’s worth an experiment to see.

SUPPLIES:

Chalkboard Paint (see recipe above)

Inexpensive vinyl placemats (purchased at the dollar store)

Sponges (purchased at the dollar store)

Chalk (purchased at the dollar store)

foam brush

I purchased the placemats at the dollar store. If you would like to use the chalkboard placemats frequently, I would first spray them with a primer paint and then paint on the chalkboard paint. Using the placemats infrequently you wouldn’t need to prime them first.

Make sure to paint two coats of chalkboard paint. Once dry you can use them right away. The foam sponge is used to erase the chalk.

Another idea is to use contact paper as a table runner. See instructions below…

dollar store contact paper made into a colorful chalkboard table runner

Super easy DIYchalkboard table runner.

SUPPLIES:
Chalkboard Paint (see recipe above)
Roll of Clear Contact Paper (purchased at the dollar store)
Foam Sponge (purchased at the dollar store)
foam brush

Unroll the contact paper and place label side down. Use a couple pieces of tape to hold it in place.

Using the foam brush, paint the chalkboard paint on top (right side) of the contact paper. Let dry. Do a second coat of paint.

This part is a two-person job: Once dry peel off the backing paper and place the sticky side of the contact paper directly on top of the plastic table cover. You are now ready to doodle and have fun.
The foam sponge is used to erase the chalk.
Contact paper made into a table runner works for a one time use. Since I had the supplies on hand (except the contact paper) this cost me a little over $1. Pretty cheap and makes a statement.

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